Renault Clio 2020 Review – International

The SUV in front of us slows down. Not sharply, but with a firmness that would have you reaching for the brake pedal pretty sharply. I don’t though. In fact, I’ve got my foot wedged onto the lip of the dashboard, up behind the steering wheel, as far from being able to reach the pedals as I can get.

Don’t try this at home, kiddies -- professional driver, closed course and all that, except the professional driver isn’t in charge. The computer is, and the combination of radar and forward-facing camera is bringing the new Renault Clio to a very smooth stop behind the car in front.

It’s nothing we haven’t seen before in other cars, but it is relatively unusual in the light-car segment, and it’s indicative of the upcoming 2020 Renault Clio’s ambition to be taken more seriously as a premium-style product.

The new Clio from Renault, you’ll excuse the Ron Burgundy allusion, is kind of a big deal.

Small car it may be, but Renault has sold 15 million of these things around the world since the first one launched in 1990. That’s the equivalent of selling one every minute of every day since John McEnroe got himself chucked out of the Australian Open. That’s a lot of Clios.

You’d think that, with all that success, Renault would have had the Clio’s formula locked down, but actually that’s not the case. The outgoing fourth-generation Clio was a strong selling car in Europe, but everyone griped about the cabin quality. So, for this fifth-generation version that was highest on the to-do list at Boulogne-Billancourt.

Perhaps that’s why the two cars – the fourth and fifth generation Clio -- are so hard to tell apart, at least to the casual glance. The basic silhouette has changed barely at all, and you’ll have to get the micrometer out to discover that this new model is some 12mm shorter, overall, than the old one.

Styling is basically the same up front too; the lights front and rear are new, the doors are a slightly different shape and the boot lid is smaller so that it doesn’t get smacked in a rear impact and is therefore cheaper to fix and insure.

But underneath, the all-new Renault Clio really is just that -- all new. The platform is the latest development of the Renault-Nissan Alliance’s CMF-B matrix, updated for this new model.

That’s allowed Renault’s engineers to carve out more space inside the car, despite the shorter overall length. Quite a lot of space, actually -- at 391 litres, the boot is roomier than that in some larger hatch models, while there’s lots of room for the driver and front-seat passenger.

Not quite as much room for those in the back of this vehicle, and the line of the windows comes up a bit too high, inducing a touch of claustrophobia, but at least the front seat head restraints have been narrowed down, meaning those in the back can see out the front.

The cabin itself? Boy, is it a big step forward. The Mk4 Renault Clio kind of adhered to the old French cliché of all style and brittle, breakable substance. This one, though, is a huge improvement, crammed with soft-touch plastics, expensive-feeling switches and (depending on version) a big 9.3-inch iPad-style touch-screen to show off the R-Link software.

The overall effect is impressive, moving the Clio from feeling cheap and cheerful to properly premium. In fact, we’d go so far as to say that this interior is nicer than what you’d get in a Volkswagen Polo, with the caveat that Renault has only let us drive high-spec models thus far.

Those high specs include a new RS-Line variant, which gives you a frisson of the Ricciardo experience (sporty body kit including an F1-wing-style element in the front bumper and chunky bucket seats) without the cost factor of a proper RS model.

Sadly, Renault decided to saddle the RS-Line test cars on the launch in Portugal with its 96kW 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and seven-speed DCT dual-clutch gearbox.

These two do not mix well together -- the gearbox is slow-witted, the engine harsh and noisy at high rpm. On top of which, the ride is positively plank-like, thumping and fidgeting over the tiniest surface imperfections, to the point of intense annoyance.

Much, much better was the Intens model with the 74kW 1.0-litre TCe turbo-petrol engine, and a five-speed manual gearbox, which makes for a much sweeter combo.

The chassis still fidgets, but less so, and even if the engine is far less powerful, it’s also much less aggressive on the ears.

In this form, the new Renault Clio becomes almost fun to drive -- well, it would if the steering had any actual feel and feedback. Sadly, it doesn’t.

Equally as sad, given Australia’s demand for automatic transmissions and engine displacement in this segment, it’s the inferior combination of bigger engine and DCT auto that will likely be released here in the second quarter of next year – if Renault Australia imports the new Clio at all.

Then again, perhaps that’s not the point. We started our drive by testing the new adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assistance, which as we said is nothing we’ve not tried in other cars, but it’s new to the Clio and very effective.

Spend the extra and you’ll also get lane-keeping steering with a lane centring function that stops the ping-pong effect on highways as the steering veers between the white lines.

It’s a very effective, impressive system, and makes the Clio feel like a much larger, more grown-up kind of car.

And that’s the point. That’s what Renault has done here. Once upon a time, the Renault Clio was small, sparky and fun. That’s gone now, replaced by something more sober, but in many ways more satisfying.

No, you’re not going to get it out of the garage for an early Sunday-morning blast (at least not until the full-on Renault Clio RS version arrives), but you are going to be very comfortable commuting in it every day, maybe even taking it on some long-haul runs up the coast.

You’re also going to feel very safe in it (standard kit includes ultra-bright LED headlights, traffic sign recognition, autonomous emergency braking and lane keeping) and pretty relaxed. Overall refinement is not at all bad for a small car, although again that’s only if you avoid the RS-Line model.

What’s next? An electric one? Nope -- Renault wants to keep the Clio and the battery-powered ZOE EV separate for now (claiming that trying to mix and match combustion models and electric models on the same platform doesn’t work), but there will be a hybrid, using a new 1.6-litre engine and two electric motors. That will arrive in 2020 to rival the Toyota Yaris Hybrid.

Has the Renault Clio grown up a bit too much for its own good? Maybe, yes. It’s lacking a little for driver engagement, but for most people the extra refinement, technology, safety and that excellent new cabin will be of much greater importance.

How much does the 2020 Renault Clio 1.0 TCe 100 Intens cost?
Price: From about $26,000 (TBC)
Available: Second quarter 2020 (TBC)
Engine: 1.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 74kW/160Nm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel: 4.4L/100km
CO2: 100g/km
Safety rating: TBC